Billy Jensen

In newspapers

After graduating, Jensen self-published the The Fight Card, which chronicled every fight during the 1996–1997 New York Islanders season.^[5] The magazine led to an offer to write a story for the Long Island Voice, his first paid journalism job.^[5] He worked as a writer and editor at the Long Island Voice.^[12] He began working as a crime reporter in 1999.^[8] After serving as an editor for two pop culture magazines, Jensen helped start the alternative newspaper The Long Island Press^[13][12] and served as its managing editor. From 2005 to 2006, he was editor-in-chief of The Boston Phoenix.^[13] He also held a management role at Village Voice Media.^[13]

In crime reporting

In 2016, Jensen began working with law enforcement as a crime investigation consultant.^[8] He managed digital operations and served as an on-air reporter for the television series Crime Watch Daily.^[13] He also filmed a pilot for a cable true crime documentary series called Crowdsolve,^[13] which the network ultimately passed on.^[13]

After the death of true crime author Michelle McNamara in 2016, Jensen collaborated with Paul Haynes and Patton Oswalt to complete her book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which was published in 2018.^{[13][14][15][16]} During the press tour for I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Jensen met Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, who offered him a chance to join their podcast network, Exactly Right, leading to the creation of the podcast Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad, which he co-hosted with former sheriff's investigator Paul Holes.^[11] The show ended in 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct against Jensen began to surface,^[17] who entered rehab for alcohol addiction that summer.^[6]

Alongside fellow investigative journalist Alexis Linkletter, Jensen co-hosted the Discovery+ podcast and television special Unraveled: The Real Story of the Long Island Serial Killer, released in 2021.^[1][2][4]

Jensen has used crowdsourced tips to investigate crimes.^[18][19] He has written for publications such as Rolling Stone,^[20] Los Angeles Magazine,^[13] and the New York Times.^[15]

As crime author

In 2019, Jensen released the book Chase Darkness with Me.^{[7][15][19][21]} In the book, Jensen where he detailed his crime investigation experiences, including his use of electronic tools like social media and geotagging to identify murder suspects.^[7][21] It was released as an Audible Original,^[20] and the book became a New York Times bestseller.^[15]

In 2021, Jensen co-hosted the Discovery+ podcast and television special Unraveled: The Real Story of the Long Island Serial Killer, with fellow investigative journalist Alexis Linkletter.^[22][2][4]

In Jensen's next book, Killer Amidst Killers,^[23][24] he examined the homicides of several women in Columbus, Ohio, amid the opioid epidemic.^[23]

Producer

Jensen served as co-executive producer of the HBO docuseries adaptation of I'll Be Gone in the Dark, which aired in 2020.^[25]

Jensen produced and co-starred in the Investigation Discovery series Unraveled, with the first season focusing on the Long Island Serial Killer investigation.^[26]

Allegations

In May 2022, Jensen was removed from the Murder Squad podcast after facing allegations of sexual misconduct. Since then, several women have come forward with additional allegations of sexual misconduct.^[27] That summer, he checked into rehab for alcohol addiction.^[6]